The invention relates to liquid or fluid transport systems generally, and is specifically directed to a reservoir which reduces or eliminates the loss of liquid material when cleaning transport lines by means of pressurized gas introduced into the transport lines.
A liquid transport system may incorporate a storage or holding tank in which a liquid material is stored. The liquid material is transported from the storage tank by pipes or other lines for distribution as desired. Typically, the distribution will be for further mixing or processing of the liquid material, or for the filling of smaller containers.
In most liquid distribution systems, it is necessary at some point in time to clean the lines, which are in the nature of piping or tubing, or to otherwise eliminate the liquid material from the piping or tubing. In some industries, it is necessary to eliminate the liquid material from the lines several times a day. For example, the same system of pipes may be used to distribute many different liquid materials. To avoid mixing the various liquid materials, the materials must be eliminated from the piping or tubing.
A common means of eliminating liquid material from the piping system is to inject pressurized gas into the piping system. The pressurized gas, which may be an inert gas, or carbon dioxide, or other suitable material, will push the liquid material through the pipes. However, it is very common that the pressurized gas will push a portion of the liquid material through the pipes, but then will bypass the liquid material, leaving a portion of the liquid material within the pipes. The remaining liquid material is usually drained from the pipes, and is frequently wasted. Accordingly, the gas pressurization means of eliminating the liquid material from the pipes is not completely effective, resulting in waste, and often times, in the loss of the valuable liquid material.